There is an upsurge for BJP: Bengal party chief

Kolkata, May 19 (IANS) The BJP seemed gung-ho while the Trinamool Congress, the Congress and the CPI-M were dismissive about the exit polls predictions for West Bengal on Sunday, one of which suggested that the saffron outfit could win 16 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had bagged only 2 seats in West Bengal in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

"We have been targeting more than 50 per cent of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. One of the exit polls (AC Nielsen) suggested that we could get 16 while the state's ruling party could bag 24. The final verdict will be the opposite to this exit poll. We will exceed our target of minimum 23 seats handsomely," said state BJP President Dilip Ghosh.

Comparing the opinion polls, which had earlier suggested 7-8 seats for the BJP, with the exit polls, Ghosh said there was clearly an "upsurge" for the saffron party.

However, Trinamool Congress' Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien said the exit polls "only confuse."

"Have 'Delhi media' who masquerade as 'national media' lost their credentials and credibility? The so-called exit polls will only confuse. We await the verdict of the people. Modiji had called the number 300+ even before Phase 7. Are these numbers to match that? EVM manipulation?" he said.

CPI-M state secretariat member and leader of the Left Front legislative party Sujon Chakraborty said that "on most occasions, exit poll projections do not tally with the actual results, and we have seen this in India time and again".

However, he added that the way the campaign was converted into a Narendra Modi versus Mamata Banerjee duel, it "would have dangerous consequences for the state in future. I am sure the people of the state will realise this danger".

Congress Rajya Sabha member and its former state President Pradip Bhattacharya rubbished the exit polls. "It is nonsense. It has no basis," said the veteran leader.